A bear burrowed into a stable in the mountain village of Udine, northern Italy, and mauled several donkeys and seriously injured several others, Italian media report.

The bear broke into a farm on the outskirts of the village and entered a barn where 26 donkeys and 120 cows were kept.

The predator tore up three donkeys and injured three others. Some of the donkeys managed to escape from the barn and had to be searched for by the residents.

The barn is located less than a hundred metres from residential buildings.

„Wolves and bears come very close to houses. This is not the first case of a bear attack in the region, nor in the neighbouring region of Trentino“, – said Stefano Mazzolini‘ vice-president of the Friuli Regional Council.

Italy has recently passed a law aimed at reducing the number of bears.

A maximum of eight bears can be hunted per year.

There are more than 100 bears in the mountain regions and their numbers are increasing.